Payment cards and other similar payment instruments are often used by consumers out of convenience among a myriad of additional benefits. In an effort to prevent fraud and assist consumers in their purchases, financial institutions often utilize a variety of rules and algorithms designed to detect fraud when a payment transaction is conducted. In many instances, these rules can include the decline of any payment transaction that is initiated in a geographic location (e.g., a country) different than one associated with a transaction account. Such rules can be beneficial for consumers, but may become cumbersome when the consumer travels outside of their home geographic location.
In traditional systems, a consumer may be required to call their financial institution, speak with an employee of the institution, and inform the employee of their travel plans, to ensure that they can use their payment card in a new geographic area when they travel. However, such a process may require a significant time commitment by the consumer, as well as requiring significant resources by the financial institution, which must employ personnel to attend to such calls. In addition, the consumer must be mindful and remember to call the financial institution prior to traveling, as calling from the new geographic area after travel has begun may be exceedingly difficult due to connectivity problems, time differences, etc.
Some systems have been developed to enable a financial institution to be notified of a consumer's travels based on the geographic location of a mobile device, such as a cellular phone, associated with the consumer. However, such systems rely on the consumer having first registered a mobile device, being in possession of that mobile device during travel, having that mobile device being turned on, and that mobile device having an adequate connection to a partner mobile network operator. As a result, there are many instances where such a system may fail to properly notify a financial institution.
Thus, there is a need for a technical solution whereby a financial institution can be notified of a consumer's travel itinerary prior to travel with minimal consumer interaction, and without the need for pre-registration of a transaction account for such a service. By utilizing a technical system that limits the instructions received by a consumer, payment transactions may be processed with fewer difficulties faced by both consumers and financial institutions, resulting in additional benefits for all entities involved in the processing of transactions.